Tuesday, August 2, 2016

REVIEW:2016 Panini Football

If you are new to football card collecting or trying to introduce someone new to football cards, I think this is the kinda product for you. Let's read on.

In every box of 2016 Panini football, you will find 24 Packs with 10 Cards Per Pack so you are getting a good handful of cards. Boxes come with one hit, either an autograph or memorabilia card and run about $60 per box.

The base card design is simple. I am not too much of a fan of it as it takes up a lot of the photo, I think they could have downed the name part a bit, but I do like the fact that the borders are by team colors, the players that changed teams are updated and

rookies are featured in NFL jerseys.

There are 300 cards in the base set so it's a chase to build.

There are many parallel chases in this product with you pulling many of those in a box.

But here is the product checklist that may help you along. Find it HERE.

Gore is a Red Knight numbered to 49 and Dez is a Blue Knight #d to 99. There is also Gold Knight #/10 and Black Knight 1/1

Sacrifice Die-Cuts numbered to 199

Shiny stuff! Not numbered but very purty! The plain shiny ones are Templar parallels and the rainbow are Shining Knights. Makes sense.

Oooooooooh love it! Lot's of shiny here! Makes me think of something you would see at a rock concert. These are Chainmail parallels.

The inserts are basic and the theme of the product stay the same.

All inserts appear to have parallels as well of Red #/25, Gold #/10, and Black 1/1.

My best pull of the box seems to be this card. These are rare pulls from what I read and they are Predictor cards. You can find rare MVP, Offensive Player of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the
Year Predictor cards to earn a chance at a rare set of Panini trading
cards. Also search for Gold and Black versions for a chance at
exclusive sets, including parallels sequentially numbered to 10 or
One-of-One!

I pulled the base version.

I think I have a solid shot with this one even with the suspension. (and against every thread of dignity I have in my body I may have to route this guy on but hope Pats lose)

There are also tough to find Knights of the Round Die-Cuts that fall one per case on average. There are 40 of them to chase!

Here is my autograph of the box, Heir to the Throne Signatures

There is also, First Impressions that is signatures of the 2016 Rookie Class featured in their NFL uni's, Rookie Calligraphy Autographs and base autographs that features all 199 cards in all the vets.

You can also find memorabilia cards, Squires Jerseys that are technically the first memorabilia cards of the 2016 NFL Rookie Class, with Prime parallels #’d to 25, Gridiron Warriors, Quest, and Catapults with prime versions for each.

To close this out, had to show off my Jerell Adams "rainbow" I started with just this one box:

Overall, seems like a basic enough product once you get the parallels figured out. There are some nice looking cards and some chase cards that will make this fun for collectors of all ages. Panini football also comes in a variety of retail buying options like the one I opened. That means there is plenty of price variety on this product for all collectors.

From a Retail pack expect (on average): two Rookie Cards, one insert, one parallel; also look for the exclusive Sacrifice die-cut parallels.

From a Blaster box expect (on average): 11 Rookie Cards, five inserts, five parallels, one autograph or memorabilia card; also look for exclusive Bravery parallels.

From a Fat Pack expect (on average): two Rookie Cards, two inserts, two parallels; also look for the exclusive Chivalry parallels.

I also believe set collectors like myself will have fun putting this one
together. I may try to chase down the rest of my Adams "rainbow" to and
other collectors may take on a player for themselves to try. Another added fun chase.

Let me know your thoughts on this produt in the comments below.

By the way, make sure you thank Panini America for this review box and check out their site for products like this one and others. Find some of these cards in a future NFL contest!

1 hit for $60 is a bit disappointing when a blaster gives you the same for only $20. However, your hit was better than the one in a blaster I pulled today so it's likely the boxes have better hits overall. I didn't get any numbered parallels or inserts, either. That said, I appreciate the fact that Panini includes a guaranteed auto or jersey, instead of a manufactured relic, so thank you for that.

That's your standard for a good set: "lots of shiny"? 300 cards is a good chase? Panic had a chance to do something different, and they did the typical crappy set that has become standard and collectors seem to accept because there are, to me, lots of worthless cards with a piece of jersey or an autograph. I would like to see a 6-700 card set with most of the players in the league represented. I don't want three or four Tom Bradys with "lots of shiny" or minor color variations when I can't get Gabe Jackson, Mario Edwards, Jr., Johnny Hekker, David Harris, Mike Mitchell, Nate Solder, and hundreds of other players who never get cards. As expected, Panini shit the bed with their inaugural set.

The problem is that there aren't any sets for the older (like me) set builder collector. I want a 600-700 card set with most of the NFL players. Baseball has sets that big and football has long ago surpassed baseball in popularity. There are too many junk cards, subsets of the same guys with some gimcrack graphics and colors. I wasn't attacking you so much as the state of the hobby, and collectors just accept what lousy choices we have for all sports. That Panini controls football, hockey, and basketball cards doesn't help. Cards help me connect to the history of the game and the players; I'm not interested in hits of oddball cards. That market is extremely well served by multiple sets.

I hear ya. I am one of those very few remaining set collectors myself. I miss big sets like collectors choice that covered many players and teams and not just the bigger ones.

Seems most companies have forgotten about the base sets since today's collecting is all about the hits. That's probably why a lot of the time I try to find deals on 90's stuff and build sets from that era